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Reasons to buy in the Green Coast of Spain before the end of the year

There are a number of reasons why it would be good to buy now in regions like Asturias, Cantabria, Galicia and the Basque Country, or otherwise called Costa Verde (Green Coast).

1. Anyone who buys before the end of the year, the capital gains tax when you sell would be of 10.5% instead of a minimum of 21% in 2013.

2. For those who are waiting for prices to come down further, should be aware that the market in the North of Spain is completely different to other areas within the country. Property prices haven’t and will not drop as much in Costa Verde as in the south and the Mediterranean coasts. You probably hear in the news that housing prices in Spain have come down a massive percentage and that there are lots of repossessed properties. Well, 60% of repossessed properties in Spain are in Valencia and Andalucía. There are almost no repossessed properties in Asturias (only a few for 30,000 euro in the mining areas and a few flats in the main cities) and very few in Galicia and Cantabria. Spain is a big country and the prices are being reduced a lot in places where they built millions of villas and flats which are mainly in the two areas I mentioned earlier. As Asturias for example wasn’t developed in such a way, the prices haven’t been affected as badly compared to other areas. Also, mentioning the average fall of property prices, disguises massive differences in some regions. According to Tinsa (national property valuation company), property prices in the last 12 months in Asturias dropped 5.2% compared to 22.6% maximum drop in another region. 90% of vendors in the northern regions are willing to negotiate the price, so even if prices come down another 5% in the next year, this can be balanced out by putting a lower offer of similar percentage and by the savings one would make with the capital gains tax. The BBC news online today announced: “Not all of them have large debts though, the coal-mining region of Asturias in the north of the country is relatively debt-free. The region of Madrid itself has said it has already covered all its refinancing needs for the year, while Navarra, Galicia, Cantabria, Aragon and the Basque Country all seem to be on a sounder financial footing”. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17549970

3. For those looking to buy a new property, the prices will rise next year as the VAT will go up from 4% to 10%. The VAT for second hand properties will stay at 8% for the time being.